Homeopathy For Women Today

LizW wrote the following comment on my post “When Homeopathy Fails…..”dated May 12, 2009.

Quote

“I know a family where the father is a doctor in homeopathy and has been one for many years. They recently had their first child, a boy. He was born at home with the father assisting in the childbirth. For the first few weeks all was fine until the child developed a mild cold and simply did not get better. No amount of homeopathic remedies helped. The child developed an infection that raged on with no relief from homeopathy. The child’s breathing was very compromised, he wheezed and the skin sunk in between his ribs. Finally when the child passed out from lack of Oxygen did they take the child to the hospital where he was intubated and it was discovered the child had Cystic fibrosis. After a month in the hospital the child went home and the parents were instructed to go to a CF clinic so the child could begin the therapy that he would need for the rest of his life. But the Father refused and when the authorities intervened the father the parents took the baby out of the country (Canada) so they could freely treat him solely with homeopathy. Sadly the child developed another pulmonary infection and again almost died despite continued homeopathic treatment. At the hospital in Vancouver they discovered the child’s history and child protection services were called. Currently the child is much better undergoing court ordered mainstream science based Therapies for Cystic fibrosis. The father is still fruitlessly using homeopathy but not exclusively. Sadly the child’s lungs have lost some permanent function so it is unlikely he will live very long as othe children born with CF.

If the proof is in the eating… Spare me. I’ve seen this first hand. It’s quackery.”

Unquote

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Rather than just reply to LizW personally, I thought I would write a post on this.

LizW has stated things as s(he) saw it, and made some conclusions.  I reply as follow -

Dear LizW:

Thank you for your comment and for taking the time to write.

I am really sorry to hear about this child’s condition.  I assume that you have stated everything about the case as accurately as you can, and give my reply based on that assumption.

First of all, as a parent myself, I try to do what is best for my children regardless of my beliefs about any particular system of treatment. The father in this case seems to have been very dogmatic.

• As I mentioned in my post, a lot of factors play a part in determining whether a patient gets well or not. There are some cases that do not respond to Homeopathy and as a homeopath, I try to learn from them.
• If I had been in the father’s place, I would have asked another homeopath to look at my child’s case as it would have been very difficult for me to remain objective about my own child’s case.  If it appeared that Homeopathy could not help my child, I woud have not have hesitated to use other medical systems to help my child.
• Dogmatism in any healthcare practitioner (of any system of medicine) is not good for his patients/clients. It is common sense that if something is not working for you, you try something else.
• I do not know how much you know about Homeopathy or whether you are able to assess the father’s ability to treat his own child. Not every homeopath is equally competent. If another homeopath had looked into this case, he may have been able to help this child.
• About your conclusion - from just one case you have seen, you have concluded Homeopathy is quackery. Is that “scientific” reasoning?
• Is it “scientific”  to blame a system when you do not even know if the father followed Homeopathic principles properly, whether he was able to treat his child objectively, etc?
• If so-called “science-based” or “evidence-based” medicine is the only way to go for everyone everywhere, why are there so many failures in conventional medical treatment, why are there so many side-effects (some even irreversible)? Why don’t you call that system quackery?  You probably don’t (and I don’t either) because conventional medicine has helped many (even if not all) people.
• I am not against conventional medicine, but I am against the notion that that system is the only treatment option for every health problem.
• I heard of patients who were put on new anti-diabetic drugs and suffered a stroke, and the drug was recalled. If this had happened to someone you know, you would not be supporting conventional medicine quite so much, would you?
• That does not mean that conventional medicine as a whole is useless or unscientific, does it?  Likewise, if Homeopathy did fail in one case (yes, the case you wrote about is very sad), we need to look at what happened, why Homeopathy failed and learn from it rather than conclude that Homeopathy (the system that has helped hundreds of thousands of people, particularly in India) is quackery.

Once again, thank you for your comment.

My prayers are with the child you mentioned, and the family.

Vimala

With hundreds of thousands of pharmaceutical drugs, we are no closer to becoming a healthy world. Chemical drugs make the pharmaceutical companies (and everyone else connected with them) richer. While they laugh their way to the bank with our money, we end up at their mercy when we give in to the fear/paranoia that we cannot live without such chemical drugs.

While I do not suggest that every chemical drug is bad or useless, even the ones that are ‘necessary’ bring with them complications, many side-effects and so on.

I have seen patients who have been on long-term use of chemical drugs suffer terrible, itchy skin eruptions with smelly oozing so bad that they stopped going out of their houses unless totally necessary, and stopped mixing with others. 

As their doctors told them they cannot stop the chemical drugs, the patients seem to have no choice.

We always have a choice.

Question is - do we want to make the choice, take the bold step forward and give complementary/alternative medicine such as Homeopathy a chance to really help us?

It’s your call………..

For over 200 years since it was “discovered” by Dr Hahnemann, Homeopathy has received many negative comments specifically about the fact that homeopathic remedies are diluted beyond comprehensible levels, that they contain (in most cases) no biologically active ingredient, that till today we do not know how Homeopathy works, why it works.

Knowing that I am a homeopathic practitioner now (an educated one at that - in my previous career I was a Certifed Public Accountant for 15 years), people ask me how can you believe in a system that has no ”scientific”basis . 

My answer is “the proof is in the eating” - you will only ever know if something works when you try it for yourself or someone close to you or someone you trust has tried it.

Homeopathy does not directly treat your illnesses. When you use Homeopathic remedies, you are improving what homeopaths call your “Vital Force” - your life energy, your defence mechanism, your immunity. Your now stronger Vital Force manages your illnesses and restores health. 

When Homeopathy FAILS, it can be due to several reasons -

• The client did not provide true and full information, especially about his/her emotional and mental symptoms - this can be due to embarrassment, fear of being judged, or because (s)he did not realise that the symptom may be important
• Lack of skill of the homeopath in eliciting the required information
• Lack of skill of the homeopath in correctly identifying the client’s driving forces and the under-currents of the case i.e.what needs to healed
• Lack of objectivity on the part of the Homeopath
• Poor skill of the homeopath in finding the ”remedy of best fit” for the client 
• Client did not take the prescribed remedies properly
• Remedies were stored in improper conditons thus nullifying their effect
• While on homeopathic treatment, client continued to drink black coffee (which is known to antidote homeopathic remedies)
• Client felt that the progress was too slow and abandoned homeopathy
• Client is not truly ready to let go of the illness - crazy as it sounds, there are people who want to hold on to their illness - could be in order to get attention, or they are so used to their sickness that they do not see any other way of living, or they do not believe in their own recovery, etc 
• Client had the wrong expectations of homeopathy. While homeopathy can go a long way to help you manage your illnesses, it cannot compensate for improper lifestyle, poor nutrition, lack of exercise, and so on. For example, a client suffering from bronchitis who continues to smoke is not going to get much result from homeopathic remedies if he does not quit smoking.

While no Homeopath can help every client, Homeopathy can certainly help with most health conditions. It is sad that people attack Homeopathy without really understanding it or trying it, and in the process miss out on all its benefits.

So..  I wish you all a safe and gentle journey back to health with Homeopathy!!

I came across a study done by  Dr. Edzard Ernst, Director of Complementary Medicine  and Dr. Max H Pittler, Senior Research Fellow, Complementary Medicine, Peninsula Medical School, Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, Exeter, UK. (Source: www.mja.com.au/public/issues/185_11_041206/ern11072_fm.html )

To summarize the study, 

Objective: To collect contemporary accounts of celebrity use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), to aid clinicians in determining which CAM treatments patients are likely to use.

Design: Articles published during 2005 and 2006 reporting celebrity use of CAM.

Results: 38 celebrities were found to use a wide range of CAM interventions. Homeopathy, acupuncture and Ayurveda were the most popular modalities.

The doctors claimed that as the media did not report what the celebrities were using CAM for, “It is thus difficult to assess whether or not the therapies are employed wisely by celebrities”.

Conclusion: ”There may be many reasons why consumers use CAM, and wanting to imitate their idols is one of them.”

My take on this -

As a homeopath and user of homeopathy, I applaud the celebrities for using Homeopathy to maintain or restore their health and for having that fact reported in the media.  While I do not say that celebrities know best or that whatever they do should be emulated,  using Homeopathy is one celebrity-based trend that I can encourage.

Looking at the list of celebrities and well-known personalities who are said to use Homeopathy, I am sure they choose their healthcare options “wisely”. The impressive list includes not just actors, artists, musicians who may be into “new-age therapies”, but fairly conservative people like Queen Elizabeth II and former UK premier Tony Blair. 

Mahatma Gandhi, father of India, whom no one can accuse of peddling quackery, supported homeopathy strongly. In fact, he reportedly said ”Homeopathy cures a larger percentage of cases than any other method of treatment.”

Past advocates of Homeopathy included Yehudi Menuhin (violinist), Mark Twain (author, humorist), William James (pioneering psychologist), H W Longfellow (poet, educator), Nathaniel Hawthorne (writer) and Daniel Webster (politician, lawyer).  These were not people who would have supported quackery.

I do not agree with 2nd part of the study’s conclusion. Most people who choose Homeopathy do not do it to imitate their idols. While we may choose clothes or make-up or cars or some such things trying to imitate our idols, we do not choose to use Homeopathy because celebrities do so. Even if that does happen, it would be a very small percentage of the millions of people all over the world who use Homeopathy.

In India, homeopathy enjoys considerable popularity not because celebrities endorse it, but because it has proven itself beneficial and effective. Look into any Indian homeopath’s website and you will see case studies and testimonials even video cases and laboratory investigation reports of people with chronic diseases who have regained health with Homeopathy.

Who would you rather believe - real people who got good results using Homeopathy or some hard-nosed “scientist” who claims that there is no way homeopathy can work because till date we do not know how it works?  I am happy to believe the former…..

Three cheers for the famous supporters of Homeopathy and for us common folk who choose a safe option like  Homeopathy !

One party Homeopathy won’t be joining!     by Chris Day on Mon 05 Nov 2007 07:30 GMT  |

 http://chris-day.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2007/11/5/3334854.html

In the USA:

“Adverse Drug Events (ADEs) result in more than 2.1 million injuries each year and the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that 100,000 Americans die annually of adverse reactions to prescription drugs”

“The FDA’s Office of Drug Risk Assessment calculates only 1% of ADEs are reported.” http://www.centerfordrugsafety.org/PAT_ADEStat.asp

In the UK:

The BMJ’s Clinical Evidence website recently stated that only 15% of the 2,404 orthodox medical treatments reviewed were effective and 47% were of unknown effectiveness. www.clinicalevidence.com

Personally, I’d be keeping quiet about the evidence base of medicine, if I were promoting conventional medicine. I’d be keeping still quieter about the evidence base of other disciplines!

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Note from Vimala -

From the time of its founding over 200 years ago, Homeopathy has been severely criticized and condemned by many. They argue that Homeopathy is not “scientific”, it is not “evidence-based”, due to the following:

• The first point of contention is the way Homeopathic remedies are made - by a process of serially diluting and vigorously shaking the original substance known as Potentisation. The dilution renders that no molecule of the original substance remains in the “Potentised remedy” beyond a certain point.
• The second point of contention is that higher the dilution (or potentisation) the stronger the remedy seems to become
• The third point of contention is that with such potentised remedies, we need to give only very few doses (unlike in conventional or allopathic medicine)
• The fourth point of contention is that even though millions of people all over the world have used homeopathic remedies and thousands of clinical records show their efficacy, to date no one has been able to show (or ”scientifically prove”) how these remedies work 
• The fifth point of contention is that Homeopathic remedies did not perform better than placebos, in so-called “scientific” trials.

As a homeopath, I can understand the arguments even though I do not agree with them.  More about that in another post.

However, at this time, the point is this - how many people have died from using homeopathic remedies as directed, how many have been left with irreversible side-effects, how many have been left with severe damage due to doctor/ hospital errors?  Even the critics will agree that Homeopathic remedies, as stated in the Hippocratic oath, above all, do no harm.

The statistics given above by Chris Day show that while conventional or allopathic medicine is doing good, it is also doing a lot of harm.

What would you rather use -

• a system like Homeopathy that does no harm, at worst does not work, at best gives you good results, all without burning a hole in your pocket  OR
• a system that claims to be “scientific” or “evidence-based”, and tells you adverse drug side-effects are something that you must suffer if you want to get better (!!!!!!!!). 

For myself and my children, if we can get well with so-called placebos, I am all for it. I have nothing to lose and something to gain, all without adverse side-effects.  Why not? 

I have nothing against conventional or allopathic medicine - it has its place, especially in emergency situations and surgical cases.  But to say that it is the ONLY option is not true.

I have relatives and friends who are physicians, who are well-meaning people who truly want their patients to get well. Yet, when I talk with them about adverse drug side-effects, they tell me there is “no choice”.

My answer to that is - there is a choice, in fact, more than one choice. Today, we have access to an unprecedented number of complementary and alternative treatment options. Besides Homeopathy, we have the several thousand years old Ayurveda (East Indian medicine) and Traditional Chinese medicine that offer complete solutions. Then there is Yoga therapy, Osteopathy, Chiropractic, Acupuncture, Acupressure, Nutritional therapy, etc that can complement your other treatments and aid healing.

Go ahead and explore your “choices”. I wish you fantastic health.

Guidelines for Homeopathic treatment:

• Remedies should be taken ½ hour before or after food/drinks/smoking
• Strong-smelling substances like onion, garlic, toothpaste, mint, eucalyptus (in some lozenges) etc. may reduce the action of these remedies. If you have used these, wait for ½ hour, rinse your mouth and then take the remedy.
• Do not touch the pills by hand, to avoid contamination. Tip the pills into the cap of the bottle, put these into your mouth quickly and suck on them till dissolved.
• Do not drink water after taking the pills.
• Do not consume any pills that have fallen out or become discoloured.
• Do not stop your conventional (allopathic) or other medication without professional advice.

Storage of Homeopathic Remedies:

• Ensure that you keep all remedy bottles tightly closed to avoid evaporation
• Do not refrigerate the remedies
• Store the remedies in a cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight, away from magnets, electro-magnetic fields, electrical appliances (e.g. near clock radios and alarm clocks, on top of refrigerators, near computers or monitors, handphones, etc).
• Store the remedies away from strong-smelling substances such as perfumes, spices, aroma oils, potpourris, naphthalene (moth) balls, Tiger Balm, Axe Oil, Liniments, etc.
• Store the remedies away from reach of small children.

Caution:
After taking the remedy, if you did not see any improvement after 3-4 doses, it is likely that you have not chosen the correct remedy or there may a deeper/more serious problem that needs to be treated. Please stop the remedy and consult with a qualified homeopath or other healthcare provider near you.

After taking the remedy, some people experience a slight worsening of EXISTING symptoms, which is like a healing reaction. This could last from a few hours to a few days. If you have such an aggravation and if it persists, stop the remedy completely, drink some black coffee (an antidote to homeopathic remedies) and consult with a qualified homeopath or other healthcare provider near you.

Although homeopathic remedies are safe for pregnant or breastfeeding women and diabetics, please check with a qualified homeopath or healthcare provider near you, before using these remedies.

If you’ve read my earlier posts (Homeopathy Basics) you would know that Homeopathy is a 200 year old holistic healthcare system that is highly effective, safe and natural, used by millions of people all over the world.

Many common minor illnesses are well suited to be treated at home with Homeopathic remedies. It is a system you can use at home for a fraction of the cost of conventional / allopathic approaches.

In Homeopathy, every case is individualized. Therefore, 5 patients with the same problem may be given 5 different remedies because of symptoms or other factors that are different in each case.

When you are treating yourself at home, try to find the remedy that best fits (or most closely matches) your symptoms from the list of remedies we recommend. 

Once you have identified that remedy, purchase it in 30c (or 30CH) potency in 30 or 40 size lactose pills (pellets) from a reliable Homeopathic Store near you or from an online store. A list of our recommended online stores will soon be available at www.AllswellHomeo.com/online.html.

Homeopathic dosage and frequency of dosage varies based on your age, how severe your problem is and in what potency you are taking the remedy. Assuming you bought the remedy in 30c potency, you can use the following guidelines (or refer to the manufacturer’s directions).

Size of oral dosage:
Adults & children above 12 years of age – 4 pills
Children under 12 years of age – 2 pills
Infants, babies, toddlers – 1 pill – it can be dissolved in 1/4 cup of water to prevent choking.

Frequency of dosage:

For Very acute condition:  Every 15 or 30 minutes, up to 4 doses.   Then reduce to 4 doses a day until you feel well again. Then stop.

For Acute condition: 4 doses per day (up to 2 weeks), until you feel well again. Then stop. 

For chronic condition:  We do not recommend that you treat chronic conditions at home. It is best to consult with a qualified homeopath. You can also consult us online from the comfort of your own home.

(See Part 2 of this post for further information).

In defence of homeopathy

Jeanette Winterson
Tuesday November 13, 2007
The Guardian

Picture this. I am staying in a remote cottage in Cornwall without a car. I have a temperature of 102, spots on my throat, delirium, and a book to finish writing. My desperate publisher suggests I call Hilary Fairclough, a homeopath who has practices in London and Penzance. She sends round a remedy called Lachesis, made from snake venom. Four hours later I have no symptoms whatsoever.

Dramatic stuff, and enough to convince me that while it might use snake venom, homeopathy is no snake oil designed for gullible hypochrondriacs. Right now, though, a fierce debate is raging between those, like me, who trust homeopathy because it works for them, and those who call it shamanistic claptrap, without clinical proof or any scientific base.

There have been a number of articles in the press recently criticising homeopathic remedies as worthless at best, and potentially lethal at worst, if they are being taken instead of tried-and-tested conventional medicines for conditions such as malaria or HIV.

I have found myself cited, and drawn into this, because I am on record as supporting homeopathic practice in general, and in particular the Maun homeopathy project, a clinic in Botswana set up by Fairclough.

The organisation Sense About Science and journalists such as Ben Goldacre and Nick Cohen are targeting a symposium in London in December that will discuss HIV and Aids and the homeopathic response to such diseases. Of particular concern is a claim by the British homeopath Peter Chapel and his Dutch colleague, Harry Van Der Zee, that Chapel has developed a remedy, PC1, that can be used to treat the HIV virus.

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 New Delhi, Oct 30 - India will promote homeopathy for bettering mother and child health in areas like anaemia, asthma and diarrhoea, a senior health ministry official said Tuesday.

‘Homeopathy is used by many people in India but the usage is very patchy. Through a concerted campaign, we are going to promote homeopathy across the country, especially for mother and child health promotion,’ joint secretary health V. Samuels said.

Under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), the government has decided to promote this form of medicine at the national, state and district level.

‘All the hospitals and homeopathy practitioners will be brought under a network to facilitate the success of the programme,’ Samuels said at a function.

Giving details about the initiative, Chaturbhuja Nayak, director of the Central Council for Research in Homeopathy (CCRH), said the effort would address the ‘unsatisfactory health status of women and children in the country and also the high morbidity and mortality of infants and young children’.

Currently, the infant mortality rate is 58 for every 1,000 childbirths, while maternal mortality is 301 for every 100,000 deliveries.

He said problems like anaemia, deficient secretion of milk, urinary tract infections, skin disorders, asthma, diarrhoea, chikungunya, respiratory problems, sleep disorder and many such health problems could be addressed effectively through homeopathy and with less expenditure.

‘We have over 3,000 hospitals catering to the traditional system of medicine. These hospitals along with smaller hospitals affiliated to the primary healthcare centres and district hospitals will be roped in to provide an option to people in general and rural folks in particular,’ Nayak told IANS.

‘Our focus is on preventive cure rather than hospitalisation of patients,’ he said.

Nayak said a national campaign would kick start from Delhi Nov 5 to propagate this initiative and go to all states subsequently.

‘There is a need for this campaign as currently we have limited awareness about the efficacy of the traditional system of medicine both among policy makers and people. The non-achievement of the World Health Organisation (WHO) goal of health for all by 2000 also is one of the reasons why we are going for this,’ he said.

 Source: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/133241.html

As women, we face unique health challenges. Our bodies are regulated by monthly cycles as rhythmic as the phases of the moon.

Normally, these cycles flow naturally and effortlessly. Yet the delicate interplay of hormones, stress, environmental pollutants and improper diet can cause imbalances. That’s when healing herbs and natural homeopathic remedies may help restore equilibrium.

“Many women’s health problems are very easily treated with homeopathic medicine,” observes Jacquelyn Wilson, MD, former president of the American Institute of Homeopathy and a homeopathic family practitioner in Escondido, Calif.

PMS, irregular periods, cramps, vaginitis and bladder infections all respond to homeopathy, Wilson notes. And unlike conventional therapies, homeopathy seeks to balance the system by stimulating the body’s innate ability to heal itself.

Wilson has used homeopathy for the past 20 years in her medical practice. She became interested in homeopathy because she felt it offered more relief for women’s health problems. “In allopathic (conventional) medicine, narcotics such as pain pills are the primary treatment for menstrual cramps, while birth control pills are used to regulate periods. In homeopathy, thousands of medicines are available, so there are a lot more treatment choices.”

Jennifer Jacobs, MD, agrees. After practicing conventional medicine, Jacobs investigated homeopathy 20 years ago and now uses it almost exclusively in her practice in Seattle, Wash. “I turned to homeopathy because it’s a natural system of medicine that stimulates the body’s own healing mechanism, and there are no side-effects,” she explains.

Homeopathy is a system of medicine developed in the late 1700s by German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Based on the principle of “like cures like,” homeopathic remedies cause disease symptoms in overdose yet cure the same symptoms when prescribed in minute, homeopathic microdoses.

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